Rivers wanted Peyton Manning in Denver

Posted by Mike Florio on July 19, 2012, 10:40 PM EDT

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When the Peyton chase unfolded in March, with the former Colts quarterback being courted by the Broncos, 49ers, Cardinals, and Titans, Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers wasn’t hoping that Manning would choose a new city other than Denver.

Instead, Rivers says he wanted Manning to join the AFC West.

Rivers made the claim on NFL Network’s Total Access, via USA Today.

“I was probably one of the few people that was crazy enough to say it, but I was hoping he was going to Denver, and I say that with all respect,” Rivers said. “Certainly [he’ll] make it even tougher. . . . We certainly can’t expect that 8-8 will get us in [the playoffs].

“I’ve always believed why wouldn’t you want to play the best? . . . To me, any time you’re playing a Peyton Manning-led football team, it’s a challenge. But it’s what you dream about growing up as a kid.”

Of course, there’s nothing else Rivers can say at this point, given that Manning is a member of the Broncos and the Chargers will have to deal with him twice per year. (Then again, Rivers said something similar before Peyton picked the Broncos.) And that’s not necessarily a bad thing; the Chargers are one of the few teams that routinely bedeviled Peyton when he was in Indy.

So maybe, in the end, the Chargers will actually fare better against Peyton Manning than they would have done against Tim Tebow, who beat the Bolts in November and who nearly knocked them off after coming off the bench in October.

Philip… You don’t ever stand on the field at the same time as the opposing QB. You’re not going against the best unless you consider the broncos defense the best. So just shut up now that you will actually have to earn a playoff spot instead of just cruising all season due to a cupcake division.

Rivers has a rep as a smack talker. Would enjoy hearing their exchanges in the raw. You know that its going to be raunchy to the point that Rex Ryan would wonder if that noy kisses his mother with that mouth.

If Peyton had Tomilson in his prime I could imagine how many SB’s he would’ve won or been in. Point Blank the Chargers have been irrelevant since Junior Seau. I don’t know why Rivers want more competition they’ve been hindered by the Patriots,Ravens,Steelers,Colts(Manning) even though the chargers beat manning in the regular he still came out with a SB.Rivers is the 4th best AFC QB at best.

Chargers might as well forget everything they thought they knew about Peyton Manning. He’s in the AFC West now and all bets are off when it comes to conference games. Sometimes they play out like you thought they might on paper but typically they are a scrappy, beat the hell outta each other game that often defies all the conventional wisdom.

AFC West is a a weird time right now. The 4 teams seem to be very evenly matched up. More so than last year even.

Well, yeah, Rivers has a tendency to always play up or play down to his competition. It wouldn’t surprise me if Rivers owns Manning one week and then loses to the likes of Cassel or Palmer the next week.